Private Security Guards May Have Been at Benghazi Consulate
Contrary to the State Department's own reports, it had hired a security firm, but it's unclear if guards were actually present
The State Department signed a six-figure deal with a British firm to protect the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya just four months before a sustained attack on the compound killed four U.S. nationals inside.
Contrary to Friday's claim by State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland that "at no time did we contract with a private security firm in Libya," the department inked a contract for "security guards and patrol services" on May 3 for $387,413.68. An extension option brought the tab for protecting the consulate to $783,000. The contract lists only "foreign security awardees" as its recipient.